A Special Place

Have students use electronic and library resources to research the homes of various cultures and the habitats of various animals.

Conduct a group brainstorm with the class of alternative ways to use the limited space available in the future. Consider how living spaces might change if humans/animals reside in atypical locations (i.e., sky, underwater). Students list criteria to consider as they design a "special place" for the future, including needs, special features, entrances, building materials and power sources.

Students select a specific environment for their future living space. Use Crayola® Model Magic® to construct buildings, water storage facilities, and other structures.

Have students experiment with mixing white and colored Crayola Model Magic modeling compound. Blend two primary colors (red, yellow, blue) together well to make a secondary hue (orange, green, violet). Blend colored compound with white to create tints and with black to make shades. Create marbled effects by incompletely blending various colors together.

Student shape mixed compound with hands or a rolling pin to make thick flat pieces or slabs for a floor. Use a plastic dinnerware to cut out geometric wall and floor shapes.

Students glue the floor shape to a base of cardboard or foam core board. Assemble and press walls and floor together.

Students cut out additional slabs and shape these into towers, roof and other components. Build long, thin or delicate forms around plastic straws, gift wrap tubes or toothpicks secured in basic structure.

Students use Crayola Washable Markers to suggest place's setting on the cardboard base. Draw and texture paper shapes (i.e., trees, fences, rocks) with washable markers to represent other setting qualities. Use Crayola Scissors to cut out shapes, adding a tab to the bottom of each. Fold the tab back and glue it to the base to make shapes stand erect.

Students name their special place, then explain its location, design and special features in writing.

Websites for habitat research could include: Threats to Biodiversity located at http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/00473/habitatdescruction.html; Humans and Animal Habitats located at http://www.abpischools.org.uk/activescience/module2/home.html;

Students may research global locations that they would like to place their new habitat and resources that they would like to have available for their inhabitants. They may also want to research types of government for their future living spaces. Website suggestion: Kidipede History and Science: Governments located at http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/government/.

Student/group habitats can be created on multi-levels. Student groups can brainstorm how, using materials provided, they can create a multi-level living space.

Student/group will write a summary paragraph collaboratively describing how they constructed their habitat and defend why they chose the design.